TheScooterScoop

Here’s another one… but in THIS story pay attention to “legal parking on sidewalks”. It’s about time to do a report on “how to convince your local government to show some love to scooterists.” Here’s a snippet:

As an alternative, many people are buying inexpensive new and late-model scooters.

Scooter sales are up about 20 percent at Reina International Auto, a Vespa dealership in Brookfield, Wis.

“People are more serious about using scooters for commuting,” especially after filling the fuel tanks of their sport utility vehicles, said manager Filippo Reina.

In Wisconsin, a motorcycle license is required to operate mopeds with engines 50cc and larger.

Many of the motorized bikes get about 75 mpg fuel mileage, and some of the smallest ones can be legally parked on sidewalks.

“So there’s a huge savings not only in gas but in parking,” Reina said.

Joe Mirasola recently parked his GMC pickup, which gets about 17 mpg, and commutes 5 miles to work on a motor scooter.

“I have used the truck once in the last two weeks,” he said. “It just kills me. … I put gas in the scooter the other day, and it cost me about $3.”

Kait Krueger uses a scooter to commute 10 miles to work at a hospital where she is a registered nurse. Her other vehicle is a 2001 Ford Taurus that gets about 21 mpg.

“Once I get used to the scooter, I will take a trek across town, to Greenfield, to visit my mom,” she said.